I have a RF so I don't have tuning plates but I have seen several set ups over the years. The 1/2'' plates will probably take longer to heat up but they should hold heat pretty well. It really depends on what you're shooting for as to how many plates that you run and how far they cover. Some guys want a couple of different temp zones so they can cook chicken at a higher temp while cooking ribs at a lower temp in the same cooker. Most that I've seen have the first plate tight against the end of the CC, a half inch gap between the 2nd plate and the gaps increase from there to achieve the temps that they want.